Two ticket holders take $1bn double jackpot
Two ticket holders have won more than $1bn in the two main US lottery draws.
All six numbers on a Powerball ticket sold in New Hampshire were a match. Its owner can now claim $570m (£420m).
The victorious player has beaten odds of 292.2 million to one. The winning numbers drawn on Saturday night were 12, 29, 30, 33 and 61. The Powerball was 26.
Meanwhile in the Mega Millions draw, the winning ticket, again matching all six numbers, was sold at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Port Richey, Florida.
Its owner, who chose numbers 28, 30, 39, 59, 70 and 10 can now claim a jackpot of $450m (£331m). They have beaten odds of 302.5 million to one.
The winner, who under Florida law cannot remain anonymous, has 180 days from the date of the draw to claim the money.
While the winner's name, place of residence and winnings can be made public, their address and phone numbers are kept private.
A $100,000 bonus will be paid to the retailer.
The Mega Millions win is the fourth largest jackpot in the game's history, and the 10th largest in US lottery history.
The largest Powerball jackpot to date was a $1.6bn (£1.2bn), split three ways in January 2016.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot was $656m (£484m), won in 2012, and also shared by three lucky winners.
The two lotteries had gone months without a jackpot winner and the chance of a big win encouraged eager punters to queue outside convenience stores to buy the $2 (£1.50) tickets.
Shop assistant Kaushik Chitalia said: "There are some people coming in the store and they say, like, 'We are buying the big dream'."
Customer Martin Turk from Richmond, Texas, said: "I don't normally do it, but this is just… I felt it today. Something told me to go buy a ticket."
Most winners do not take the maximum amount of cash.
Instead of opting for the publicised jackpot figure, which is paid in an annuity over 29 years, most lottery victors choose to take a lump sum instead.
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The cash payout for the Powerball draw will be around $358.5m (£264m), while the Mega Millions lump sum is around $281m (£207m).
Whichever option the lucky winners choose, the US taxman will do very well, taking around 37% of the winnings.
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